Art and History Museum

In central Brussels, next to the European quarter, is the majestic Cinquantenaire Park.

Friday, May 31, 2019,

By Art and History Museum

Art and History Museum

Photograph by Art and History Museum

In central Brussels, next to the European quarter, is the majestic Cinquantenaire Park. Constructed around 1880, the park’s buildings and exhibition halls were built to display the riches and ingenuity of the young Belgian state. Today, they house several museums and one of them, the biggest in Belgium and one of the largest in Europe, is the Art & History Museum.

Although the collections housed in the Art & History Museum are on par with those of world-famous museums, such as the British Museum or the Louvre, the museum largely remains a hidden treasure. The buildings alone are worth a visit: the grandeur of the 19th-century architecture — from the impressive facades to the grand halls and hidden corners — never fails to amaze visitors.

The collections themselves are everything art and history lovers could ever dream of. They offer a trip through time and across the globe, with archaeological objects ranging from the dawn of mankind, through Egypt, Greece and Rome as well as the fine arts of the Middle Ages, right up to art nouveau and art deco at the start of the 20th century. Further to these extensive collections, the non-European wings of the museum offer an in-depth overview of the cultures of North and South America as well as Asia. Visitors can wander the different wings and exhibition halls while marvelling at the ancient objects and pieces of art man has created.

Some unique masterpieces can be found here: the statue that inspired world-famous author Hergé for the sixth volume of The Adventures of Tintin, The Broken Ear, for example, or an original statue from Easter Island donated to Belgium by the Chilean government. World-renowned collections of Belgian tapestry, stained glass and Mosan art are kept here too, next to the carriages used by the Belgian royal family and precision instruments dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries. And, of course, since Brussels is the capital of art nouveau, the art nouveau and art deco collection is a must-see.
For those needing a break from so much culture, the museum also offers some fine Belgian cuisine at its on-site restaurant.

DON'T MISS

A trip through the ages and across the world, right in the heart of Brussels, courtesy of Belgium’s biggest museum